Seeking a non-zero-sum world politics: China, Europe and multilateralism

In March 2019, the EU defined China “a systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance”. Afterwards (22nd EU-China Summit, June 2020), however, the EU appeared rather ambivalent regarding China’s approach to multilateralism, the fundamental organizational principle of present international order. The paper takes its cue from the reasons behind what could be seen as a form of EU “strategic ambiguity”, facilitated by the intrinsic complexity of the issue. The aim is to explore if multilateralism can foster engagement between China and the EU, in case what kind of engagement and to what end. The thesis put forward is that, due to Beijing’s mainly quantitative conception of multilateralism, the EU may well single out China for recurring to multilateralism instrumentally, in search of recognition as a legitimate key player in global cooperation or to promote pluralism within IGOs. However, the EU may also recognize that quantitative multilateralism serves China’s aims, such as fostering a non-zero-sum world politics, that the EU also pursues. The form of engagement that may ensue will be addressed by looking at some instances of cooperation within multilateral settings (AIIB and WTO).